(Bonus points if you can reference the movie I stole this title from)

I’m so excited to share this Pleasant Event post today.  If you’re keeping track, its #99 on the list.

More than five years ago my aunt was offering free fabric for quilting because she had so much of it.  Being a extreme lover of home-made blankies and bit of a hoarder I happily took some.

The fabric has sat in my closet for years now.  I’ve felt just a tinge of guilt every time I look at it knowing I should have/could have done something with it by now.

I feel like I grew up around quilting frames.  As the youngest child in my family, someone was always getting married.  A cousin, a brother, a neighborhood girl.  In my culture, every wedding commissions a home-made quilt.

I’m a pretty serious NON-CRAFTER.  I mean, I own a glue gun, but mainly just to glue things back together when they break.  I have a sewing machine, but that’s mainly because me and my hubby are both short and we have to shorten all our pants.

I realized that my daughters who are 7 and 4 have never seen a quilt being made.  I felt like their non-crafter mom was holding them back.  They’ve never played house under a quilt.  They’ve never built a fort under a quilt.  They’ve certainly never seen me quilt or taken a single stitch on a quilt.

This thought made me remember how much my Grandma Louise loved to quilt and how disappointing she’d be in me if I let the art of quilting die on my watch.

So…I began the process.  With all the things I was doing, it was a process which took many months.  But…little by little I acquired all the things I needed which were as follows:

• Fabric
• Yarn
• Batting
• Quilting frames, tacks and clamps which we borrowed from my Mom’s friend Paula
• Sewing Machine
• Worker bees

First, my mom and I laid out the batting and fabric to make sure they matched up.  Then we pinned the batting and fabric together wrong side out.  Then, because I hate binding and sewing handwork, I stitched the batting and fabric together leaving an 18 inch hole.  I used the hole reverse the entire blanket making it all appear right side out.  Then I used the machine again and carefully stitched up the hole.

Even though it wasn’t done, we used it for a few days because it was fun and we were proud of what we had accomplished.

A few weeks later we got back on task and put the quilt on the frames.  I let the girls play in and around the quilt for as long as they wanted.  It was, after all, the whole point of making the quilt.

After play time was over we got to work stitching ties all over the blanket.  Sunny especially LOVES ties on blankies.  Against my wishes, she still sucks two fingers while she holds her special blankie.  They both had a ball moving the large needles up and down pulling the yarn through the fabric.

They also loved learning to tie square knots.  I had to have my eagle scout husband show me how to tie a square knot because I’d forgotten how and I know they’re the kind that stay tied best in blankets.

They girls love tying them too.  I’m not sure they did it correctly and I guess it just doesn’t matter anyway.

They important thing is we had a fantastic time together creating a blanket that we all LOVE to snuggle under together.

I know my girls had a great experience they will always remember.  I can feel my Grandma Louise smiling down on me from heaven and I can hardly wait to make another blanket it was a great experience I’d highly recommend.

Related posts: